


photographer

by yyxybutterfly



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Lowercase, One Shot, chuuves - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 21:30:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17753831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yyxybutterfly/pseuds/yyxybutterfly
Summary: jiwoo always has her camera ready, dangling from her neck. she always sports a smile, gladly offers her help to whoever wants any kind of picture. and she always rejects any kind of romantic approaches. sooyoung observes this girl she saw photographing the droplets of water on a hallway window.





	photographer

it's the same all over again. she's leaning back against the chair with her head propped up on her palm, face blank as she's staring out the cafeteria window, watching birds tutter among themselves on branches.

ha sooyoung, aged 17, senior, tired, spends her time alone at lunch, picking at the cup of coffee she pours herself from a thermos and the hurried lunchbox she sometimes manages to throw together in the morning. she's always looking for a distraction in that timeframe when otherwise she's perfectly calm under any kind of pressure.

sooyoung's eyes strayed from the scenery towards a nearby table for just long enough to stay unnoticed. her crush always sits there with her friends, chatting about nothing in particular as she waves her hands about, with wide eyes and a sparkling smile. that day was no different. jiwoo was as always entranced by her friends, holding her camera almost out of habit, never sparing her more than a glance as she was explaining something with glee. sooyoung forced her gaze back to the sky.

kim jiwoo, aged 16, sophomore, human vitamin, the girl with a camera always around her neck, part of the school's photography club, official photographer of the institution, and also sooyoung's crush of one year. despite her status, she never refuses and even welcomes requests for photos, no matter how wild: girls fooling around in ridiculous poses for social media, impromptu family portraits, stills for lettered love confessions, and all the more, anything imaginable to the mind. nobody knew if she would ever turn someone down for pictures.

instead, she turned down people in one aspect. jiwoo had garnered many admirers over the one year she had spent in the school, many boys and girls vying for her undivided attention. she was kind enough to leave them off with a selfie and encouragements towards finding someone better, but she never raised anyone's hopes in the slightest. her rejection was fast and calculated, and sooyoung figured she wasn't at all dense, unlike what someone would expect.

sooyoung had the unfortunate luck of budding feelings for the girl ever since seeing her in the hallway, at the start of her junior year. jiwoo had her camera pointing outside, her elbows propped on the windowsill, with a childish glee on her face as she captured the raindrops on the glass. the sight was enough to melt sooyoung's heart and follow her throughout the day, even if she didn't even know the freshman's name back then. her fame later brought it to knowledge. sooyoung remembered her heart fluttering when she heard everyone praise the girl she fell for, her cheeks warming when jiwoo gave a grin to all the people gathered to compliment her. maybe her eyes had grazed sooyoung's then. she hoped for it.

"hey, sleeping beauty." a voice from behind awakened sooyooung from her thoughts and she startled, blinking. her eyes landed on a tall blonde standing next to her table, leaning onto it, smirking like the tease she was. jinsol, the only senior younger than her, whom she had the cursed chance of sharing her class with. jinsol was a nightmare to deal with, yet a cute mess when her crush on a sophomore- same situation as sooyoung, but a girl named kim jungeun. were their crushes related?- came up.

"goodbye, jung," she drawled, crossing her legs and returning to staring at nothing in particular. "go suck face with the other blonde."

jinsol looked indignant at the response she received, yet still sat across from sooyoung, slamming her hands onto the tabletop. "how dare you! you say that to me, but you can't even raise a finger to talk to your girl! it's been a year, sooyoung! a year!" she enunciated sharply, marking every one of her last words with a tap of her finger on the table.

sooyoung wouldn't be surprised if the whole cafeteria could hear jinsol, even over the constant chatter in the room. the blonde had a habit of being unnecessarily loud, but at least easy to distract.

"wait, what's that? a photo?" this, she did not expect. sooyoung turned her head to look at the girl. jinsol had already picked up the object in question from the table and was studying it closely. she could only see the back of it, a white square with something written in black ink. "this looks like a master photograph's work. did you finally score with jiwoo?"

she had never seen it before. when did it even appear on her table?

"it's not mine, i found it earlier. give it to me for a second, i think i know whose it is," she said, hoping jinsol would fall for it. luckily, she did, so sooyoung got to look at the photo. she was surprised to find it to be a picture of a window stained by raindrops, with a blurry background that distantly resembled their school grounds.

she flipped the picture over in her hand. the handwriting on the back was neat, small and easy to decipher against the white sheet. from closer up, she could notice the glitter. the person had written in black, sparkly gel pen.

 _hey! <3_  
_you're as beautiful as the rise of day. i know you like apples, but i didn't find any pictures in my gallery. i'm sorry, i'll work harder and bring you some next time. if you'll have me, of course._  
_i noticed you looking at me that one day. do you remember? i certainly do. i saw you a few days before. it might have been love at first sight. you look really lovely reading a book, i wish i could have taken a picture_  
_xox, your admirer unknown, to ha sooyoung_

her eyebrows furrowed, but she pocketed the photo anyway. "it's for jiwoo, actually. this message says that. i'll be sure to give it to her when i can," she lied, controlling her face. something in her said that it was jiwoo who dropped her this message, but she didn't let herself get hopeful. it wouldn't end prettily for her; after all, jiwoo rejected everyone, saying she isn't interested in romance without a second thought. she herself was considerate enough to respect wishes like that.

jinsol raised an eyebrow but accepted her answer. the blonde shrugged and began picking at sooyoung's food without shame, probably having forgotten to bring her own. it was already routine between them, so she got away with nothing more than a glare and a shake of a head.

sooyoung finished her coffee in silence and packed her thermos up. she left her lunchbox to jinsol as always, and got up, planning to leave the cafeteria before the bell rang. she locked gazes with jiwoo while passing her table, and found the courage to give her a smile. she received a grin and a small wave in return. sooyoung could only close her eyes and continue.

***

the next time she saw jiwoo, she was coming to school way earlier than usual, planning on catching up to some future assignments. the girl was in the courtyard, bowing to a boy, the both of them hidden from immediate view. she recognized him as a junior from the photography club, and she was intrigued.

what caught sooyoung's eye more was the burgundy bouquet of flowers jiwoo was holding. it made her pause before she could be seen. confident she was unnoticed, she took the chance to watch from behind a corner. nobody else was on the school grounds, so she had to take utmost care.

"so, i'll see you around?" the boy asked, happy. jiwoo giggled and gave a nod, gleefully skipping away with the bouquet, towards the school. she was humming a song to herself, going through the pictures on her camera.

sooyoung would lie if she said she wasn't heartbroken by the sight. she turned around, taking off towards the rear courtyard entry reserved for teachers. it was too early for any of them to care if she was there if they were around in the first place. the coast was clear, and she managed not to make contact with anyone.

jiwoo was just leaving towards the club rooms when she entered the hallway, so they exchanged warm greetings. she didn't have the bouquet with her anymore but was still smiling giddily. sooyoung's heart shattered, but she never showed it. she kept her mask all the way to her locker, even after jiwoo couldn't even see her anymore.

she entered her combination for the lock and popped it open. her legs gave in, and she had to hold onto one of the shelves inside in order not to completely collapse to the ground. a photo flew out and landed at her feet, and she picked it up with a shaking hand.

it was a picture of a plate with apples, with strawberries peppered around them, placed on a balcony. small chocolate candies brought out the color of the fruit. sooyoung couldn't hold her smile, even as tears streamed down her cheeks.

this photo had a message in black sparkle gel pen on the back, not unlike the other one.

 _i told you i would work harder. here you go, i arranged these apples for you. i hope you find them as sweet as you are, because to me they paled in comparison to you_  
_bright flowers for a bright lady. peach is my favorite color, and i know burgundy is yours. take care of them, my queen of flowers. i bought them for you on my way to school this morning. they reminded me of you that much._  
_xox, your admirer unknown, to ha sooyoung_

sooyoung lifted herself from the floor, wiping the tears off her cheeks. she read the message twice to make sure she didn't get anything wrong, before delicately placing it back on the shelf.

assignments be damned, they didn't matter anymore. her hand came down to pat some of the petals with careful movements. she admired the peach against her skin, lovely and bright. she absolutely loved them.

she closed her locker, twisting the lock shut. sooyoung would have to come back later to bring them to the dorms before they wilted, but until then she had somewhere to go.

sooyoung ran towards the photography club room, the only thing in her mind the bouquet she saw the girl hold in front of the boy. the one jiwoo had assumedly gotten from him, as a sign of his feelings. the bouquet she found in her locker, actually meant for her.

she wiped her forehead with her sleeve, before knocking softly and letting herself in. jiwoo was the only one inside, sitting on a sofa, reading a book, the camera still dangling from her neck. she looked up and was opening her mouth, but she froze when they made eye contact, surprised to see sooyoung. the girl shook herself out of it soon enough, switching to a smile and a wave, inviting her in.

the atmosphere felt pressuring to sooyoung, now that she was sitting next to jiwoo and slowly regaining her breath. there were no words exchanged between them for a while, only the flip of pages interrupting the silence.

"i think peach is a really pretty color," sooyoung commented, unprompted, staring at a table near the entrance of the room. there was a plate of fruit placed upon it, with apples and strawberries.

jiwoo hummed, "i agree." she closed the novel, letting it rest in her lap, hands folded evenly on top of it. "it's a really pretty color for flowers." her attitude was calm, her smile serene, illuminated by the sunrise. she looked really warm, with the sun in her auburn hair.

the silence continued, but it was short lived this time.

"do you know?" jiwoo said this time, browsing the pictures on her camera's screen. she was worrying her bottom lip, lashes fluttering slightly more often. nervous.

"i do." sooyoung's eyes settled on a slice of strawberry cake, on the coffee table in front of them. it was half eaten, and the culprit was probably jiwoo. it warmed her up, something as trivial as strawberry cake. it was so jiwoo in a way.

"so?"

she turned to finally look at the girl. jiwoo was facing her then, eyes a fraction wider. her cheeks were a little red, just enough to bring out her naturally cute charms. her mouth gaped open just a little, but not enough to show her teeth. sooyoung is silly enough to think that she really had the same effect as the cake.

her eyes strayed from the girl to the dessert once more, picking up the small plate and spoon. jiwoo watched with confusion and moved to protest as sooyoung scooped up a mouthful of cake, but resigned with a bright blush as it was offered to her. her eyelashes fluttered with uncertainty, leaning forward to take the piece in the end.

jiwoo chewed in silence, her eyes never leaving sooyoung's. they widened when sooyoung took a bite of her own with a chuckle.

"i find it funny that my secret admirer is the same cute girl i've crushed on for a year," she admitted with natural confidence, flashing a sweet smile. "as cute as the strawberries she likes so much."

it took her a moment, but jiwoo slowly broke into a wide grin at sooyoung's words. they enjoyed each other's company, sharing the cake with occasional glances and excited giggles down to the very last piece.

with the dessert gone, nothing stopped jiwoo from taking and setting aside the plate and spoon. she moved to hold sooyoung's hands, a little coated in cream off the plate, and beamed brightly.

"you really make me happy, sooyoung, even if you never knew," she said, and sooyoung knew it was the truth from the way her eyes shone, the way her heart soared at the words. "many people confessed to me before, but i turned down everyone. because i knew i liked you all along."

her heart soared even higher as jiwoo connected their lips, tasting of strawberry cake and untold promises of the future. sooyoung let herself get lost in it and everything that was jiwoo, because there was no one else she would rather be with.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, and i hope you enjoyed! :)


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